Hafiz says between the last quarter of 2007 and this February, Perodua has received 5,000-6,000 bookings a month for its Viva model. This increased to 7,000-8,000 a month between March and May, he says.

“We should get a clearer picture on the full impact of the higher fuel price on Perodua compact cars in six months once everybody gets over the initial fuel shock,” Hafiz says, adding the auto maker expects Malaysian new-vehicle sales will rise 4.7% this year to 510,000 units.